


The Life-Changing Holiday

by Sessediz



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Business, Christmas, Confidence, F/M, Falling In Love, Heartbreak, Holiday, Hot Springs & Onsen, Mountains, Mutual Pining, New Places, New Year's Eve, Plants, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Ryokan, Self-Discovery, The Holiday, Tokyo (City), Travel, Winter, plant life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:40:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sessediz/pseuds/Sessediz
Summary: Usagi is stuck living in the mountains with no available guys, and dreams of the city. Minako needs a break from the pressures of the fashion industry, and time to get over her unrequited love. With a chance meeting, the two switch places for two weeks during the holidays. Who will accidentally find love? Who will find themselves on a journey of self-love and care?Loosely based on The Holiday (2006)
Relationships: Aino Minako/Kunzite, Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that I wanted to do a re-write of the film The Holiday (2006), a delightful rom-com with Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, and Jack Black, but with Sailor Moon characters. I highly recommend the movie, but also the score as it's composed by Hans Zimmer. It's pretty long for a typical rom-com, but I feel like there's so much more to the story than just a quick romance which is what made me want to write something similar! 
> 
> This is my first time writing a full story with the characters clearly living in Japan versus my home country, so I hope I do it justice (feel free to PM me if you have notes!).

**Aino Minako, Tokyo City, Minato District:**

“You won’t believe it, he brought her to the office Christmas party,” my friend Himari whispered as she leaned against my desk. “And she’s wearing the new Chanel dress that’s coming out in this year.”

I scanned my article, trying to find a way to adjust the lede so that it wouldn’t seem like I waited to the last second to finish writing this, though I did, before sending it to the copyeditors. Fashion had always been an interest of mine, ever since I went back-to-school shopping with my parents and a couple gift cards from extended family. At that age, the department store seemed to go on forever with endless possibilities.

Fashion had a lot of options back then, I suppose. You could buy almost anything and layer it, or mix and match with hats, scarves, and overalls. And not _everything_ was always on display.

“So?” I muttered as I glanced up at the framed letter on my short cubicle wall. At first, many might think of it as some crown achievement, to have a black frame with a gold line embossed around all four sides incasing a letter from within the fashion industry, but alas it was just my most recent rejection letter from a modelling agency.

Following my eyes, Himari asked why I still kept that thing on the wall. I didn’t want to admit how much it stung that Kairi left me for a model, or rather that he was dating us both and then chose her over me, and I certainly didn’t want to discuss issue further.

Hoping to change the subject from Kairi’s supermodel girlfriend, I turned in my mesh swivel chair to face my tall friend. “Did Asahi end up using those quotes from that interview with the girl that downed all the diet pills last summer?”

“I don’t think so. His editor said it wasn’t relevant to the topic of gossamer scarves versus chiffon belts, so it might still be in his notebook, if he hasn’t started on his next one yet.”

“I should go see if he’s still at his desk then. This is due by 3 p.m. today because of the party.”

Himari followed me, probably instinctively so that she could see Asahi, and asked how the topic of diet pills came up with chiffon anyways.

“Apparently she just started on a rant about the industry and he just kept recording. From what I recall, it was good info,” I said, weaving through the crowd of coworkers that were already waiting around for the office party, talking up their weekend plans, along with Christmas and New Year’s.

“Wait, isn’t your article supposed to be about how to shed ten pounds fast for a New Year’s resolution piece?”

“Yep, and I decided to go a different direction, to showcase the danger of some of the diet pills on the market, and to plead for our readers to involve their doctors in their diet plan.”

Himari nodded as she held a nervous smile. “Good luck with that.”

Truth be told, I hadn’t tried applying again to any agency for the last two years because I knew it still wasn’t enough. I wasn’t _skinny_ enough. Not _androgynous_ enough either. And I didn’t want to crop my long, blonde hair off to a super short bob or at a sharp angle.

The industry had one simple look these days, a look that is unnatural for most, and even those who are born with such traits have to work hard to maintain it. And only front cover celebrities get to smile anymore. All the ladies on the catwalk at the big shows don’t get to show any emotion.

I mean, they aren’t supposed to fall anyways, but if they trip on their seven-inch heels they can’t show how much pain they are in. It’s barbaric, and yet, I still hold to the idea that this world is for me, lest it be for anyone, really.

And there was still time, I suppose. I had tried most diets out there, and spent most of my free time exercising, but as I’ve gotten older, I keep falling into the mistake of bingeing, be that food or an entire TV series. And what did I have to show for my lack of restraint? No boyfriend. Stuck on the wrong career path. And hopelessly in love with someone who clearly doesn’t love me back.

Himari smirked. “You know, he took me out to this theater last night? We sat in complete darkness with our food ordered ahead of time, and they played live music to these dancers in all black. It was definitely an experience.”

“If the room was pitch black, how did you see the dancers?”

“Well, I mean, we could sense that they were there. They were clearly dancing around us,” Himari said as we walked up to Asahi’s desk. Honestly, it sounded like a waste of money to me; but so is much of the entertainment in the city.

After I got his notes, with Himari staying behind, I went on to finish my article. When a shadow fell on my desk, I only half expected it to be him, and more of me than I wished to acknowledge wished it was him too.

“Still working whilst the rest of us slack off?” Kairi said charmingly with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and that million-dollar grin. “Your work ethic makes us look lazy.”

I smiled as if on cue, because there was really no other way to respond to the things he says to me.

“What are you doing for Christmas Eve? I was thinking we could go out, see a movie?” he tucked a long section of his boy-ish curls behind his ear.

“Wouldn’t your girlfriend be mad? Knowing that you’re hanging out with me?”

Kairi scoffed in that adorable way as he picked up the stress ball off my desk. “She may be my – girlfriend, but you’re my best girl. We’re friends, no?”

I know he just said that I was his ‘best girl’ – whatever that means exactly – but then the ‘friend’ following it had my head in a daze as my betraying heart melded the two into ‘best girlfriend,’ which really, is that even a good thing? Didn’t that suggest that he was once again dating us both, instead of solely me?

“Uh-huh, just one second,” I replied in a chipper tone, immediately yelling at myself internally for never combining my conscience with my words.

“Is it fun having a brain that works that fast?” he breathed as he rolled the stress ball back to its place, and lingered his hand near mine. The near touch of his hand both excited me and sent off alarm bells.

“Oh, I got you something,” I said, immediately pulling away from him as I pretended to dig through my bag for something I knew was right on top.

“Minako, you didn’t have to get me anything,” he smiled as he accepted the wrapped gift. With a quick tear of the paper, he gaped at the plastic-wrapped book with his bottom lip dropping slightly, and held the gift up. “Wherever did you find this? I’ve searched for a first edition of this for ages.”

“I know,” I replied gleefully. “I just sort of stumbled on it, like fate, I guess?” I swallowed the lie that I had spent the better part of the year, and more of my savings than I cared to admit to anyone, outside of my credit card company and bank, trying to find the treasure.

“Well, thank you, Minako,” he said resting his hand on my shoulder. “You’re a great friend. I’ll have your gift to you shortly, I just – forgot it at home is all.” Just then, the alarm on my phone went off, letting me know that I needed to submit the article to the copyeditors so they’d have time to review it. “I should get going. See you at the party here soon, yeah?”

We parted with a smile, with mine falling not a moment later when I saw him walk up to _her_ and drape his arm loosely around her tiny waist, and place a kiss on her cheek.

And she was wearing the new Chanel dress with the long skirt, the sheer shoulders, and the black fringe around the shoulders down to just a third of the skirt length. She looked amazing in it, and not only could I never afford something so fantastic, they probably wouldn’t make it in my size.

With the party in full swing, I began making my rounds to wish everyone well for the upcoming holidays. I heard about many trips to various places around the country, and even a couple trips abroad, and silently wished that I could do more than a ‘stay-cation,’ where I just stuff my face with food and watch junk television, but I figured that’s what I had waiting for me with my week off. At least I could expect my bonus check on Monday.

Suddenly, the room slowed to a stop.

Ahead, I saw Kairi and his girlfriend. Her laughing, and him smiling, as she showed off her left hand to the group they were mingling with, and on her ring finger was a beautiful diamond setting in gold surrounded by a bunch of smaller, glittering diamonds. My hands tightened their grip to my champagne flute, in an effort to not drop the delicate object, as they kissed in front of me. Kairi must’ve felt my stare as he immediately looked up to see me there, awestruck.

“I—I have to go,” I said to no one in particular as I gathered my belongings, and headed out for my train. All the way home, I sat perfectly still, afraid that even a moment of weakness from my resolve would collapse the walls I had built, and then the messy tears and the sad sobs would start, right there in public.

I shuffled down the hallway to my apartment, my wet boots covered in grey sludge as I gave simple nods to my neighbors, steering clear of apartment 2C as I turned the key for 2B and was greeted by my little sanctuary. And there, at the sound of the door clicking behind me, before even shedding my shoes, I fell to the ground in tears.

**Tsukino Usagi, Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori:**

The sun peered through the large, open-faced windows, blinding me once again as I rolled my pillow over my head to block out the noise of the morning. Guests were starting their days, some packing up for their trip home while others focused on breakfast and their plans for the day.

And with morning came work. All day; work, work, work.

It wasn’t like I wasn’t grateful for the financial security, if you could even call it that at this point, and this ryokan had been in my family for several generations, but try as my father might I still longed to be in the city.

“Guess it’s time to start another day,” I muttered aloud as I shed my warm covers wishing I could spend the morning enveloped in the hot, mineral waters on the onsen, but I had a lot of chores to start with first.

Years ago – this ryokan with the onsen – it was my favorite place to be; not that we went anywhere else. There wasn’t much time, so only holidays with extended family sufficed as adventure. My mother would tell us – Shingo and I – fantastical stories of different lands as we drove just a few towns over to see family. We didn’t have the best internet coverage out this far in the country, so my free time was spent drawing manga and writing in my journals, short stories mostly. As technology advanced, lack of internet coverage turned into spotty Wi-Fi service, but I had many DVDs of Japanese teen serials set in cities like Sapporo, Osaka, and Tokyo to satisfy my wanderlust back then.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I hated this place. More than how familiar it felt to still walk these halls and to have my own dedicated room, and more than the thought that my mother’s spirit was still filling it with love, more than all that, I needed change.

Couples, families, solitary travelers – so many spent all year saving up and looking forward to these vacations. The ones that budgeted better or have better finances were more frequent customers that we surely knew by name. But when their trip was up, they went somewhere else. They might wish they had the ‘luxury’ of an onsen on a daily basis, or got to live in the ‘tranquil’ mountains, but the truth is this place gets old fast, and leaves a lot to be desired.

I blinked several times as I caught Shingo eyeing me while I poured my first cup of coffee. “What?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, and hurried over to me, passing a couple dressed in matching yukatas. “You’re doing it again,” he said in a hushed tone. “You’re narrating your life aloud, and you’re bringing down the ambience.”

I scoffed with an eye roll. “Either you’re admitting it’s easy to bring down the boring façade of this place, or you give me a lot of credit.”

“Oh, you’re definitely a storyteller,” he weaved past me to adjust the thermostat on the wall. “Perhaps if we weren’t so busy you could focus on your drawings a little more, and publish something; in another life you’d be a famous manga author, but here, on Earth, you are supposed to be helping us run this ryokan.”

Noticing the ledger in his hands, I walked over to the front desk and booted up the laptop screen. “Are we having trouble finishing the month’s books again?”

Shingo nodded. “We’re losing more business. The economy isn’t doing the best, so people are looking for other places to stay – cheaper places – and they’re either going to standalone onsens for day-trips or forgoing the experience for just time in the mountains. I mean, it’s not like we’re a ski lodge, but we nearly charge enough money for one.”

“H-how are we losing business to other places? And how else would we afford to keep this place open?” Shingo shook his head. “I didn’t know we had other hotels in the area.” I tried to think if there had been any new builds recently, but our area was still very rustic and untouched in many ways. It was part of the charm, I suppose. “And what experience from the mountains?”

“Usagi, have you not heard of Airbnb yet? People rent out their own properties, either for home exchange or for when people own more than one apartment or home.”

It was an intriguing idea; I wished I had thought of it. What a million dollar idea!

“More like billion dollar idea,” Shingo said, revealing that I was once-again doing my own narration. “Besides, you might not care for it much, but people love nature. We all need time to be around flora and fauna, the mountain and the sea. Father sees that people want nature, it’s why he hasn’t shut this old place down yet.” He refilled his mug with more coffee as he gave a polite nod to another couple.

I moved closer and muttered, “Dad hasn’t shut this down because he still feels mom’s spirit here. It’s also why he won’t make any changes, like update us to modern technology.”

A guest walked up wanting to know what scheduled activities there were for the day, and was disappointed when I said that we only had the one for today, which was teapot painting, taught by my grandmother. It’d be better if we had our ryokan chef teach some cooking basics, or something more than a nature walk, and I’m sure he’d love to do it.

With his arms crossed, Shingo leaned in, almost elbowing me in the side, “Why are you so obsessed with television? Real life is not what you see in your dramas.”

“Maybe if we tried _something_ different we’d have less cancellations and more nights at-capacity, _Shingo_.” I grabbed the computer and moved to the small library. It took a long while to load the search results, and then the page itself, but I managed to pull up this Airbnb website that he was talking about. After fifteen minutes of searching it was clear that we had a lot more rentals in the area than I thought.

“If this keeps up, we’ll end up closing the ryokan for sure,” I whispered to myself. “But,” I paused as I tried another search, “maybe that means we’ll have to go to the city for work, and I can finally get out of this place. Wouldn’t it be good to have a little background on the area before moving there?”

The results loaded and I saw so many _expensive_ rentals in Tokyo. They were gorgeous though, with light colored walls, and sleek, tan furniture. Everything looked so bright and clean.

I adjusted the filter for basically the lowest price per night, and found some more reasonably-priced options. When clicking on one such apartment in the Azabu-jūban area of Minato, Tokyo, I accidentally clicked the message box and started a chat with the owner.

_ Usa-buni: _ _Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to open a chatbox._

I waited for a response, but when I didn’t get one I figured they weren’t inconvenienced anyways. As I moved to close the laptop, I heard a ding.

_ Mina-P: _ _That’s totally fine ^_^ Were you interested in staying in Tokyo?_

I thought for a moment, and responded faster than I could tell myself not to; ignoring the internal monologue supplied mostly by Shingo and my father, with just a little bit of my grandmother.

_ Usa-buni: _ _I was thinking about it. I’m a little short on finances at the moment, so I’m not sure if I can swing it right now._

And even faster still, the owner responded.

_ Mina-P: _ _Well, my area is fairly inexpensive for rentals, compared to other areas with how close you’d be to the city’s highlights, and I could leave you with a list of shops and restaurant recommendations to get the most bang for your buck._

“Hmm, that’d be cool,” I said as I started a reply when I heard the ding again.

_ Mina-P: _ _Actually, where are you from? If you want, we could do a home-exchange. Like, you live here for a couple weeks, and I stay where you live. A switch-up sort of deal._

_ Usa-buni: _ _So we wouldn’t pay rental fees?_

_ Usa-buni: _ _I live in Aomori, near the Hakkōda Mountains._

_ Mina-P: _ _Just for our own food, like normal._

_ Mina-P:  _ _Oh my gosh! Really?? Your house must be beautiful!_

I sighed, shaking my head at the naivety of city-dwellers.

_ Usa-buni: _ _Not a house, per se, but a ryokan. My family operates one as part of an onsen._

_ Mina-P: _ _You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would you ever want to leave?_

I didn’t know how to respond to the question, one I had been asked all too many a time, so she added to her message.

_ Mina-P: _ _Please, just tell me, there are no available men in the area? I’m looking for some time away from it all, and men just… suck right now._

I thought for a moment, trying to recall the few people in the village nearby, most of the ones I had dated were either married or in long-term relationships now, and then I wondered if she would even stray that far from the ryokan. After all, everyone (else) loves an onsen. Besides the village, Shingo was in a long-distance relationship with a girl studying in the States, and no one else came to mind…

_ Usa-buni: _ _Nope! We’re deficient in the available male populace. You shouldn’t have any trouble here._

_ Mina-P: _ _Great! I can be there tomorrow!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Aino Minako, Leaving Tokyo City, Minato District for the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori:**

“Next stop, Shin-Aomori Station,” the announcer said from the speaker above me. I clutched my small bit of baggage, as I imagined shedding my larger bit of emotional baggage. Kairi had sent me a text right as I was boarding my train the night before, and I only made it one hour into my five hour train ride before opening it.

_ Kairi _ _: I heard through the grapevine that you’re finally taking a vacation. Impromptu vacations are a gateway drug to weekend excursions ;) Let me know when you arrive?_

And I made it about twenty minutes before I attempted to send a reply. My first drafts consisted of subtle flirtations, the kinds of messages we’d always send, and more literal statements to skirt around the subject before I was finally bold enough to say what was on my mind and heart; well, mostly mind.

_ Minako _ _: We both know that I need to fall out of love with you. This isn’t appropriate considering you have a fiancé now, not that it was when she was just your girlfriend. I need this time._

I tried being strong and turning off my phone for fear of him messaging back, and getting caught in the spiral again, but realized I could just mute our text conversations instead. I would need my phone to show my bus fare to the mountains, and then for emergencies. I can’t go totally phone-free.

Over an hour after arriving in Aomori, I was finally standing outside of the beautiful, rustic ryokan. The air was fresh, crisp, and just… alive! The view before me looked like something from a dream. Up higher in the mountains, the caps were covered in bright, white snow, nothing like the grey sludge in the city, and I watched as skiers shoop’d down the sterling sides into the coves below.

“That looks like fun,” I said aloud as I marveled at the foggy mist surrounding the forested area of my stay. I wondered what it looked like during the summer; all luscious and green.

“You must be Aino-san,” an unfamiliar voice announced from behind me. “I’m Tuskino Usagi’s little brother, Shingo.”

“Ohayou gozaimasu,” I replied with a bow that he returned.

He helped me to the room that Usagi retained for herself, and told me details such as the mealtimes and where I could find linens. Basically everything I would be told as an actual guest of this onsen.

Shingo shook his head at one point of the tour, and I had to ask what was up. “It’s just funny that my sister would utilize Airbnb for a vacation when our business might go under because of it.”

Instinctively, and without tact, I replied, “Maybe if more businesses modernized with current social processes, we’d have less failures in so many traditional industries. Eventually, new ideas _will_ come along, and if the old businesses don’t embrace the change they will fall away, sooner or later.” I stopped walking, and looked at the horrified look on his face, and immediately begged for forgiveness. “I am _so_ sorry! I was mostly talking from my work experience, from my industry. I’m sure that yours is very different, and it was not my place to speak on your business practices.”

As he unlocked Usagi’s room and handed me the key, I felt another wave of guilt wash over me and tried to figure out how I could truly show I was sorry. When I saw the room opened, I was surprised to not see something closer to the images on the clearly-dated website for the ryokan. Obviously this was her private quarters that she spent all year in, but my understanding was that Usagi was about my age – 28 – and this room had stacks of mangas, an art desk, posters from teen dramas, and a Daruma otoshi set right on her nightstand. I don’t even remember where mine went; maybe my parents still have it?

“H-how old is Usagi again?” I asked Shingo, who just laughed.

“You’re going to fit in around here. Since this is your home for the next two weeks, I want it to feel like that for you. Please let me know if you need anything at all,” he said, retreating down the hall.

I opened my luggage to pull out a few things to make it feel a bit more like my own space, but not too much. After all, that’s why I decided to take this trip, for a change up from the norm. My stomach grumbled, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since dinner on the train. A glance at the Sailor V clock on the wall showed that it was well enough past the breakfast hours, and still over an hour left till lunch. Shingo had mentioned tea on the engawa soon, but I needed a little more to satiate my hunger.

It was quiet and very empty on the way down to the kitchen, something I wasn’t expecting at such a huge ryokan in the Hakkōda Mountains during the holidays, but both Shingo and Usagi conveyed that business hadn’t been good for a while now.

The kitchen was not only empty, but huge as well. It looked like it could hold a service of fifteen at least. “Jackpot,” I whispered as I noticed the large double-fridge in the back. Surely there would be something I could snack on that no one would miss. After all, I was paying the daily food fee as if I were a guest, and Shingo _did_ tell me to feel at home.

Inside the nearly empty fridge sat a selection of small treats. There were several different wagashi, and I wasn’t sure which I should try first. Grabbing a dessert plate, I snatched one of each and almost had one in my mouth before I heard someone clear their throat.

Stepping out from the fridge, and gulping as it closed, I watched as a young, white-haired man, presumably the chef from his attire, walked towards me. “Guests are not allowed back in the kitchen. Those desserts are for tonight’s dinner,” he said.

I held the plate out from me. “I’m sorry. I just got in and was hoping to find something to eat before I collapse,” I admitted. “I’m staying in Usagi-san’s room while she stays at my place in the city, and I didn’t eat much on the train ride.”

“Oh,” he said, leaning against the kitchen island. I had momentary flashback to Kairi, but quickly shook the thought from my head and tried to focus on this man in front of me. “Usagi-chan mentioned you before she left this morning. You may call me Kunzite.”

He was definitely attractive. His jaw was strong, his features chiseled, and I bet under that black uniform he – WAIT. USAGI SAID THERE WERE NO AVAILABLE MEN HERE.

“H-how do you know Usagi?” I asked with an immediate wince at the stupidity of such a question.

He chuckled warmly as he crossed his arms. “Our families have been friends for a long time. I used to babysit her when we were little so her parents could run this place,” he smiled to himself. “She’s like a sister to me, being as I am an only child.”

“Oh, me too. Uh, being an only child, that is.” So _that’s_ why this gorgeous man didn’t register to Usagi as an available man. She didn’t think of him that way. _Or_ he really wasn’t available.

Kunzite straightened up and grabbed the plate off the end counter and handed it to me. “I wouldn’t want to deprive our newest resident of food,” he offered the wagashi again.

“But what about the dinner tonight?”

I watched as he affixed a pair of black-framed glass on his face, and flipped up a few sheets of papers from a hanging clipboard. The lines on the pages were mainly empty, and some of the filled out lines were crossed out. “Looks like I don’t need to worry about having enough food for dinner tonight, but rather enough – you know what, it’s not polite to discuss money in front of strangers.”

“I don’t have to be a stranger,” I immediately closed my eyes to avoid the humiliation. Can I say something right today, just one thing? “I’m sorry, that came out more sexual than I meant it to.” I buried my face in my hands, my warm knit sweater being a welcomed change from the cold kitchen air.

“Now, what’s wrong with being sexual?” he smirked, and suddenly I felt warm even without the sweater. Oh, boy this was a dangerous conversation. My expression must have been too readable, because Kunzite immediately cleared his throat and switched his act. “Sorry, that was forward of me. Uh, have you had a tour of the surrounding area yet, Minako? The village, our nearby trails?”

“I have not,” I replied, unsure if I should accept the forthcoming offer. This _was_ supposed to be a trip away from the mayhem of men.

“Well, if you are interested, I have a few hours after both breakfast and lunch when I could take you – uh – show you around the various offerings of our little ryokan.” Kunzite tucked a long section of white hair behind his ear.

“Uh, raincheck? I’m still adjusting to… my room?” I smiled nervously.

“Ah, well, that’s much better than excusing yourself because of the timezone ‘difference’ between here and Tokyo,” he chuckled somewhat dismissively. “Well, if you change your mind,” he said as he retreated outside.

**Tsukino Usagi, Arriving to Tokyo City, Minato District from the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori**

I scanned the last message I received from Minako, with a picture file of a hand drawn map of her area. With a variety of colored pens and a couple markers, she drew the street she lived on with star stickers on her recommended places to eat (on a budget!), and also showed me which konbinis she said would have the best foods and supplies. To get into the apartment, I was supposed to stop by her friend’s place for the keys, but my stomach was grumbling from the trip, so I popped into the closest konbini for a bite.

Shuffling my luggage in my hands, I kept finding more and more things I wanted, but I failed to realize how much I was really carrying as I piled boxes of premade sushi, onigiri, steamed pork dumplings, and lots of yummy mochi. On my way to the counter, I tripped, and piles of food fell from the heavens.

“Oooo,” I shouted, red in the face. Most of the packages seemed to be intact, and the couple that weren’t didn’t spill out everywhere, but there was one missing. “Where’s that super-stuffed package of dumplings?” I tried standing up and gathering everything again.

I heard a throat cleared behind me, and turned to see an attractive city-man dressed in a black turtleneck, green blazer, and lavender pants with two dumplings perched on his head, one of them upside down and oozing out on his hair. His shoulders were raised as he cringed from the uncomfortable texture now grazing his ear.

“I’m so sorry,” I said much louder than I should have, given the small space available in the konbini. “Here, let me help you.”

He crouched a little lower for my height as I grabbed the two perching dumplings from his head, and giggled at the sight. “You’re laughing at me?”

“Uh, no, I—,” I began.

“Because you’re the one that dumped food all over me, and now I am fated to deal with your cackles?”

“C—cackles?” I replied, not sure why he was being so rude from a small misstep. “It was a simple mistake, and I’ll have you know that I just thought it funny that we had nearly the same hairdo just now,” I popped the dumplings back into the box. My plan was to toss them once I found a trashcan, but first I needed to pay for them. “You’re certainly a warm welcome to the city,” I huffed.

The man ran his fingers through the front of his hair, which might have been a swoon-worthy sight if it weren’t for the abrupt disgust presented on his face as he looked at the pork sauce now on his hand. “I’ll let you in on a secret. We ‘city-folk’ aren’t rude, we just don’t take bullshit; and this,” he motioned to the sauce as he reach for the napkin offered by the shopkeeper, “is certainly that.”

Ooo, he makes me so mad! It was an honest mistake, why can’t he see that?

“Well, hopefully I don’t have to deal with _your_ type of city people while I’m here then,” I turned to the shopkeeper to pay for my items and heard him give a sigh of relief.

“At least you’re only here for a visit then, because I assure you the city isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, princess.”

I finished checking out, and left the store quickly to get away from such a horrible man. I mean, he was a bit attractive, but maybe he let things like that go to his head? After tossing the tainted dumplings, I pulled up the Minako-map again, and found the apartment building. I needed the tenant in apartment 2C to buzz me into the building first, and then hopefully get the keys from him so that I could finally rest after such a trying ten minutes into my big city vacation.

With no answer, I sat down on the front steps to wait. I opened my new Sailor V gumball app to start matching candies, magical items, and stars when a shadow fell on me.

“What are you doing _here_ ,” a familiar voice asked not a minute later. I looked up to see the sauce guy standing there with one hand in his pocket. “Stalking me now, are you?”

I stood up from the stoop, and furrowed my brow. “This is where I’m staying, Sauce Boy. Maybe you’re the one stalking me, then?” I moved in front of the buzzer with the list of those who lived in the building. “Quiz time, can you tell me the name of the person in 2B?”

“Aino Minako.”

“Okay, how about 2C?”

His eyes narrowed. “You _are_ stalking me.”

“What are you talking about? I’m switching places with Aino Minako for two weeks. My name is Tsukino Usagi.” He looked me up and down, and smirked.

“I thought you’d be different. Chiba Mamoru,” he said with a small bow. “Come on up, I _did_ promise Minako that I’d help the girl staying in her place,” he huffed, almost as if fate had dealt him a cruel hand.

The elevator ride was just as awkward as the incident in the konbini, albeit much more silent, and then Mamoru moved effortlessly down the hall to his apartment. Without a thought to me, he walked in, keeping the door open, and switched out his street shoes for his slippers. My eyes followed him as he tossed his keys on the short entry table, and walked down a small hallway.

Minako’s apartment didn’t look this big in the pictures, but then again the pictures on our website weren’t that recent either. I peered around the corner, not straying from the genkan, wondering where Chiba Mamoru could be.

His apartment was decorated like the luxury ones I first saw on the Airbnb website. Clean lines, cleaner floors, and very limited in color, sans the green plants on nearly every surface, and even some hanging in planters.

“You must have a green thumb,” I announced, wanting to make sure he knew I was still here. I leaned forward, still treading the space of the genkan. “Whoa!” I almost fell over, with all my items countering my weight.

“You’re very clumsy, you know that?” Mamoru appeared from the same hallway with a set of keys in hand. “I’ll just keep this one, you don’t need to worry about collecting her mail. This is the one to enter the building, and this is the one for 2B,” he said handing over the keys with a red bow key ring. I realized that in the time he was gone, he must have been washing his hair in the sink or something because the remnants of sauce was now gone, and his hair looked to be damp. He looked kind of cozy and cute without that green blazer.

“Right, well, thank you for the keys and your head – I mean your help, and I’m sorry about your hair, um, yeah,” I exhaled in a small ‘o’ and turned on my heels, when he said wait and I almost tripped again.

“Wow, you are a klutz with your words too, and it just keeps coming, doesn’t it?” he smiled. “I told Minako that I would take you out for dinner on your first evening here, and I am a man of my word,” he held his hand to the middle of his torso.

I shook my head, “That’s very kind of you, but you don’t have to do that. I know that you don’t think highly of me, what with the last thirty minutes of knowing each other, so I’ll just order something to my room.” Which honestly sounds pretty cool since no one ever wants to bring delivery up the mountain. Could you imagine the tip I’d have to pay to make that trip worth it? Maybe I should get udon?

“I know I great place two blocks over that serves the perfect udon,” he said. I blinked once, twice, and asked him what he was talking about. “You said you wanted to order udon?”

“Oh, I did it again.” I facepalm’d, and slid my fist down to just barely cover my mouth. “I thought it was just a bored, mountain-girl thing.” Chiba Mamoru seemed confused, so I continued to ramble, “I sometimes narrate my life, like, all the stuff happening around me, but mainly the stuff in my head. I say more out loud than I intend to, and usually it doesn’t get me in trouble unless I talk about how bored I am in front of our guests.

Mamoru nodded slowly. “So that’s a no on udon?”

“No, I mean yes – uh – I’m just looking for a fun two weeks, you know? My family runs a ryokan near a _sea_ of onsens, and I’ve never really been anywhere else so this is my chance to enjoy my time out of the ‘shire,’ and seeing as you’re like my instant nemesis, maybe we should just relegate ourselves to just passing in the hallway until I drop the keys to you at the end of my stay.”

“Alright then. I suppose if that’s what you want, I’ll leave you to your two weeks of ‘fun’ that someone like me has no part in,” he said dismissively as I felt an ethereal pressure to leave. “Enjoy your stay, Usagi-san.”

And suddenly the door was closed. I stared at it for another moment, noticing the little scratches and small indentations on the gold number and letter upon his door, before walking away to open the next apartment.

Inside of the rental I found a much smaller space, closer to what the pictures had depicted on the website. The kitchen was nothing as grand as the ryokan’s, nor even Chiba Mamoru’s, but I imagined I could use it just fine. After all, Kunzite had taught me several recipes that I could easily make on my own.

There was no in-house laundry, so that was included in the additional list of info tucked in Minako’s “Welcome Home” folder. I also saw a handwritten note, with different but very beautiful handwriting, and it included the names of various plants and their care instructions. I didn’t know which potted plants were which, so I’d have to Google pictures of each, but at the end of the note was the name “Mamo” with a cute little smiley face.

“This must be the guy she’s all strung out about,” I said as I tucked the pages back into the folder. “I guess I could see him engaged to a fancy model. That or bringing home a different girl every night.”

That’s what my city-based dramas always depicted; good-looking guys like him, super rude, but always getting laid.

I settled into my new space, and pulled up Netflix (free trial month, for the win!) to scan through all my options. Before I knew it, I had spent hours watching TV, the udon delivery girl had come and gone, and I was sitting there still hungry for a snack that mochi didn’t satisfy. Plus, I felt like I was wasting my short time in the city just watching TV. Grabbing the keys and my wallet, I headed down for the same konbini I had the misadventure in earlier.

It was nearly midnight, but I knew that city businesses were open much later than in the village. I was hoping to find some umeshu, or plum wine, when I suddenly bumped into Chiba Mamoru again. Luckily, I didn’t have anything in my hands this time, but his scowl was just the same.

“You know, your face could get stuck like that,” I said moving around him. “Unless you’re gunning to be the angry, old man in your building?”

He chuckled, “How _old_ do you think I am?”

“Well if you dated Minako, then probably not much older than either of us,” I said as his eyes widened.

“Dated Minako? Where’d you get that idea?” he weaved around me to start scanning the short wall of wines. “We’re just neighbors. And friends, really.”

I watched as he grabbed the last umeshu, and pouted. “I saw your note about plants in her instructional folder. I guess I just assumed you were the one engaged to the model?”

“Engaged?” he scoffed as he glanced upwards. “So that’s why she left in such a hurry. You know, I’ve been telling her to get over that jerk for two years now?”

“Oh, so you know him?” I said, carefully watching as he placed the umeshu back on the shelf. I inched closer, primed to grab the bottle.

“Know of him, mostly. I met him once when she was out on a date with him, this was right before she found out he was also dating another woman – the model – and I told her to just drop the guy; to not take his calls, stop having lunch dates, and just to cut him out of her life, but – she always had an excuse,” he whispered. “I really shouldn’t be speaking about her life to a stranger who—.”

I snatched the bottle, and practically ran down the narrow aisle to the shopkeeper. “You seem like a good friend, _Mamo_.”

“ _Usagi-san_!” he seethed. “I was about to buy that!” Mamoru followed me out of the konbini as I headed for the apartments. “You’re a conniving little thief, aren’t you?”

“You _clearly_ sat it back down,” I answered back in a twirl along the sidewalk, hoping that I didn’t accidentally slip on a patch of ice.

“Ah, so that’s why you felt the need to _run_ with it?” he said as he caught up to me on the stoop. Unfamiliar with having to grab a key to get into my own building, I wasn’t prepared to slide in the door before he could get there too. “I would have been willing to share it.”

“Who says I wouldn’t be willing to share it with you?” I replied boldly. “Besides, you don’t seem like the sharing type.” My breathing was already worked up from the quick run, but I was finding it hard to calm back down with how close we were to each other. For some reason, it wasn’t close enough for him as he stepped an inch closer.

I could feel the hot air from his breath, which made my face feel warm despite the cold air breezing by the grey buildings. “Well, you did say we were fast nemeses,” the front of his inky, black hair fell in front of his eyes, but he still seemed to look straight into my soul through the strands. “Surely in that case alone, why _would_ I share with you?”

I stepped that last little bit forward, and looked up to him, seeing as he was a foot taller than me. “Maybe first impressions aren’t always correct,” I whispered. After all, this was supposed to be a fun trip, and I’d rather give Chiba Mamoru a second chance than just waste it watching streaming programs. His breaths seemed heavy, yet they came out very even – calculated. “Would you like to share a bottle of wine with me, _Mamo_?”

His eyes scanned mine, “Maybe we shouldn’t drink something with such a high alcohol content… together… this late.”

The corner of my mouth perked up, “What? You’re afraid that a little alcohol will make you want to have sex with me? I certainly don’t want to fuzz the line of consent.”

“What if I consented right now?” he asked. I felt a warm buzz all over my body, like a glass of umeshu had just touched my lips. Ooo, he’s so yummy, and he gave that dangerous ‘bad boy’ vibe while making me feel completely safe. “Oh, I do, do I?” he smirked.

“Did I just –?”

“Say that out loud, yes you did,” he whispered as he leaned down to capture my lips with his. Our lips glided together warmly, and parted with a small peck. “Would you like to go upstairs? We could go to my apartment.”

I giggled nervously, feeling very underprepared. Having no additional contraceptives on me, I also worried about how long it had been for me. With such a small village, I had only dated a few guys.

“I don’t have protection on me,” I whispered. “And honestly, it’s been a long time for me. I’ve probably lost any skill I might’ve had.”

He chuckled warmly as he pulled me closer, “Oh, I highly doubt that. Besides, I have condoms upstairs.”

Not wanting to dwell on the thought and overanalyze him already being prepared for such a situation (because didn’t I have some in my nightstand at home too?), I decided to enjoy the moment – the night – for what it was, and nodded, “Let’s head up to 2C then.”


End file.
